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U.S. Initiative on Hunger Aids Millions, Report Finds U.S. Initiative on Hunger Aids Millions, Report Finds
(about 3 hours later)
WASHINGTON — An Obama administration program set up to reduce chronic hunger and poverty has contributed to rising incomes for farmers around the world and has helped save millions of people from starvation, according to a report released Monday by the United States Agency for International Development.WASHINGTON — An Obama administration program set up to reduce chronic hunger and poverty has contributed to rising incomes for farmers around the world and has helped save millions of people from starvation, according to a report released Monday by the United States Agency for International Development.
The program, Feed the Future, was started by the agency four years ago after a rapid rise in global food prices. It has helped more than seven million small farmers increase crop production and has provided nutritious foods to 12.5 million children in countries hit hard by drought, war or poor development, the report said.The program, Feed the Future, was started by the agency four years ago after a rapid rise in global food prices. It has helped more than seven million small farmers increase crop production and has provided nutritious foods to 12.5 million children in countries hit hard by drought, war or poor development, the report said.
In addition, the United States government received more than $160 million in private-sector investment in 2013 to help farmers and small businesses increase their food production, the agency said, a 40 percent increase from 2012.In addition, the United States government received more than $160 million in private-sector investment in 2013 to help farmers and small businesses increase their food production, the agency said, a 40 percent increase from 2012.
Dr. Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, said the report provided the first comprehensive look at the program’s effectiveness.
“We have real numbers for the first time,” Dr. Shah said, adding that the new data showed that the administration’s efforts to end extreme poverty were having some success.
The administration has made food security one of its top foreign policy priorities and has pledged billions of dollars in aid for agricultural development to help countries sustainably grow enough food to feed their people.
Feed the Future works with American universities including Texas A&M and Kansas State, which have provided agriculture research and technical help. Private companies such as Cargill, DuPont and Walmart have provided new types of seeds, fertilizer and equipment to farmers.
Gregory R. Page, executive chairman of the board of the Minnesota-based Cargill, said it was essential that private companies be involved in the Feed the Future program.
“Governments and development groups have been at this for years and it hasn’t worked,” he said. “The only way that this is going to succeed is if we treat agriculture production as a business, not as aid. Feed the Future is the perfect example of this.”
The program operates in 19 countries, mostly in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and has had the greatest success in Senegal, Bangladesh and Honduras, the report found.The program operates in 19 countries, mostly in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and has had the greatest success in Senegal, Bangladesh and Honduras, the report found.
In Senegal, efforts financed by the United States helped the country reduce its dependence on food imports, particularly rice. The country’s rice imports fell more than 20 percent between 2008 and 2011.In Senegal, efforts financed by the United States helped the country reduce its dependence on food imports, particularly rice. The country’s rice imports fell more than 20 percent between 2008 and 2011.
Last year, Senegalese farmers who received financing from the American program produced 50,000 metric tons of rice worth $13 million, more than enough to meet the annual needs of more than 400,000 people in the country, the report said. Despite the success of Feed the Future, Gawain Kripke of Oxfam said the program was not without its problems. For example, a report by Oxfam of two Feed the Future projects in Tanzania found that not all farmers were able to participate in them.
In Bangladesh, farmers using new seeds and fertilizer technologies provided by American companies increased rice yields by up to 20 percent. They also lowered fertilizer costs and created additional rice sales valued at $25 million, the report found.
From 2012 to 2013, more than 4,300 households in Honduras — nearly 24,000 people — emerged from poverty, which the report defined as having earnings below $1.25 a day, because of an increase in agriculture production attributed largely to American financing. The average per capita daily income shot up 237 percent, to $2.39, the report showed.
Despite the success of Feed the Future, Gawain Kripke, director of policy and research at the international charity Oxfam, said the program was not without its problems. For example, a report by Oxfam of two Feed the Future projects in Tanzania found that not all farmers were able to participate in them.
Still, Mr. Kripke acknowledged the program was making a difference.
“The focus on helping people help themselves is having a positive impact in local agriculture,” Mr. Kripke said, adding that more needed to be done to make sure the program is sustainable.